


Whiskers on Kittens

by Seakays



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday Fluff, F/M, Hermione over reacts, fluffy with a slight bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:49:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27149657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seakays/pseuds/Seakays
Summary: Why has Hermione’s husband warded his laboratory and what does this mean for their marriage?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 13
Kudos: 116





	Whiskers on Kittens

**Author's Note:**

  * For [feelingofthesea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/feelingofthesea/gifts).



> This little bit of silly fun is to celebrate the birthday of one of the most lovely, positive people in fandom.
> 
> feelingofthesea, I hope this makes you smile on your special day.
> 
> This is unbeta’d so all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Disclaimer - I own nothing of the Harry Potter franchise and am making no profit whatsoever on this little story.

It had been a very long time since Hermione had wanted to use a Weasley Brothers product, but she would have given her wand hand for a pair of their extendable ears right now.

No matter how hard she tried, her amplification spells couldn’t completely unmuffle her husband’s warded laboratory. Especially after he had silenced the room with a glare and a threat to keep _ her bloody nose out of his business, or else! _

Listening as closely as she possibly could, all Hermione could hear was the hiss of one of his cauldrons, and Draco’s muffled voice. She had been at it for over thirty minutes, and the only clear word she had heard was,  _ pet.  _

No matter how hard Hermione tried, she couldn’t quite shake the unsettling feeling that something was wrong with her husband. They were a week away from their first anniversary, and no matter how many times Hermione told herself they were blissfully happy, that finger of niggling doubt continued to play staccato on all of her insecurities. 

_ Was he tired of her already? Could he be regretting their marriage so soon? _

Hermione was the first to admit that their relationship wasn’t easy. It had never been, and likely never would be. There was always someone who had an opinion on the marriage of a former Death Eater and the Golden Girl, and as much as Draco and Hermione tried to shake off the doubters and the haters, some of their negativity always seemed to seep in. 

Their friends had eventually come around when they went public with their relationship, and Harry and Theo had actually become very close, as had their wives, Ginny and Luna. Ron and Pansy still loathed the idea of a Malfoy/Granger union, but they mostly kept their opposition to thinly veiled comments and dramatic eye rolls. 

Hermione’s parents were fine with the relationship, but they had suffered some memory deficits once the obliviate had been lifted. While they always seemed quietly pleased that Hermione had married, they struggled with Draco’s name and often called him Charles, the name of Hermione’s previous boyfriend, or on one memorable occasion, Ron. 

Draco’s parents seemed to swing wildly from begrudging acceptance to forcefully grooming Hermione to be the next Lady Malfoy, setting a gruelling schedule of etiquette, pure blood history, and comportment classes. 

And while she always tried so hard to please Lucius and Narcissa, she always left with the feeling that she fell way short of the mark. Whether it was her gauche mistake of discussing politics during the Wee Witch’s Trimmings and Tea luncheon at Malfoy Manor, or her choice of a solid black cocktail dress at the The Nott’s Black and White Ball, there was always a slight look of disappointment on her in-law’s faces. 

Hermione struggled to hold back her tears, as her far too logical mind started making connections at lightning speed.

_ I work too much. _

_ I am boring and plain.  _

_ His parents hate me. _

_ The press is just too much. _

_ It’s too much. _

_ I’m too much. _

Miserable, Hermione had slid down the wall, with her head resting on her knees, and didn’t really notice Draco until he was crouched right in front of her.

She lifted her head and saw him quickly move a cardboard box and a potion vial behind him.

“Granger, what in the name of Merlin is wrong with you?” Draco tried to touch her shoulder, and could barely control his surprise when she shrank away from him and promptly burst into loud, ugly tears. 

“Why did you call me that? We’ve been married almost a year and you know I took your name and yet you still call me Granger. Why, Draco?”

Looking at his wife in shock, Draco tried to formulate a response.

Seizing on his delay as an indictment of everything she feared, Hermione babbled on in between heart wrenching sobs. 

“I know it’s been hard, and I know your parents despise me, and reporters just suck, and Pansy and Ron are so annoying, but I love you, and if you want to get a divorce so you can marry your little pure blood  _ pet,  _ so help me God, Draco Malfoy, I will fight you, because I love you, and we are meant to be together, and . . . What is that sound?”

“What sound?” Draco pushed the box even further behind him, trying to muffle the high pitched little mewls.

“Draco Malfoy! What is in that box, it sounds like a cat! Why do you have a cat, your allergies are going to go crazy.”

“You mean addled like my beautiful witch? What the hell is wrong, Hermione? I always call you Granger. It’s never bothered you before?”

“It’s because I make a terrible Malfoy, isn’t it? How was I supposed to know there was an approved list of discussion topics for a bloody tea, and really a Black and White Ball should mean you can wear black OR white not both.” Hermione huffed at him.

Just as Draco was going to answer, the sound of scuffling and a rather loud meow interrupted. Hermione’s eyes opened comically large, and when she spotted the tiny calico kitten trying to crawl out of the cardboard box, the sound she made — Draco swore — could only be heard by dogs. 

Pushing herself to her knees, Hermione crawled over to the cardboard box, peaked inside, and promptly burst into tears again.

Inside the box was the tiny calico, and his two litter mates, one solid grey and the other a chubby little brown tabby. 

Tears streaming down her face, and her hands full of squirming kittens, she asked.

“Are they mine?”

“They’re  _ ours,  _ Hermione. Happy Anniversary, my nosy little wife. I saw little Beliose here, and the shop said he had two littermates and when he brought in little Marie, and Toulouse, I just couldn’t break up this little family.”

Hermione was wetly laughing, “Must have been a Disney lover.” Hermione continued. “Draco, you are going to be miserable.” Hermione knew her husband was terribly allergic to cats, and having three was going to be awful for him. But as little Marie started to bat at her curls, Hermione knew she was already in love with the kittens. 

Draco merely smirked and reached behind him, pulling a potion vial forward. 

“May I present  _ Maladryl,  _ the next best product of Malfoy Pharmaceuticals. It’s a magical antihistamine. I crossed some of your Muggle medicine with a  _ Reducto  _ and an  _ Accio;  _ one swig a day and I can be around these beasts for twenty four hours with no symptoms. I know you miss Crookshanks, but Malfoys are never a snotty sneezy mess, so I’ve been working on a . . . “

Draco didn’t get any further as his wife, holding all three kittens in her arms had thrown herself into his lap, and was kissing him rather desperately. 

“You wonderful amazing man. So you aren’t bored of me, and planning on giving me the boot for some pure blood floozy?”

Chucking his wife under her chin, Draco laughed for a moment and then he turned serious. 

“Of course not. Hermione, let me make this crystal clear. You’re it for me. We both came to this marriage with baggage, but I don’t care what our friends or our family or the Merlin forsaken press says, you are all that matters.” Draco continued. “You aren’t usually this emotional. You know I don’t care about dress colours or Pansy’s eye rolls. I just care about you and me and this tiny trio.”

“Quartet.” 

“What? You bought a cat, too.” The confusion was evident in Draco’s voice.

“Well, no not a cat, but our little family is not going to grow by a trio. . . But by a quartet. Not immediately, the healer figures in about six months.”

Draco took a minute, and then what his wife was saying finally took root.

“I’m going to be a Dad?”

Gently placing the kittens on the floor, Hermione took her husband gently in her arms, and looked into his glistening eyes.

“The very best Dad.”


End file.
